Braking mechanism for rolling closures



Jan. 3, 1939.

R. H. GREEGOR ET AL BRAKNG MECHANISM FOR ROLLING CLOSURES Filed Feb: S, 1937 l 5 5 I l l n l Patented Jan. 3, 1939 PATENT OFFICE BEARING MECHANISM Fon. ROLLING cmsunns Ralph H. Greegor and George B. Renlck, Columassiznors bus, Ohio,

to General Door Corporation, Bcno, Nev'., a corporation of Nevada Application February 8, 1937, No. 124,675

- 6 Claims- Ihis invention relates to movable closures and is more particularly directed to doors having rollers which are received in trackways to guide and support the door in position of doorway opening and doorway closure.

Doors of the type mentioned, especially where the doors move to an overhead position, have certain objections which the present invention has been designed to overcome.

ing weights or springs and at the limit of their opening movement engage with shock absorbing means. When such a door is moved to an open position, the counterbalancing spring and the operating force applied develop av momentum which causes the door to go'Y beyond the desired limit of travel. When this occurs, the door cable becomes looped around the top sheave or guide therefor so .that the door pulls backwards on the spring as it proceeds beyond the desired limit oi travel. The counterbalance spring itself reacts against this extreme movement and pulls the door back forcibly. This sets up a backward momentum which is stopped when the door proceeds downwards past the limit far enough to again pull against the counterbalancing spring. This spring tension stops this movement and forcibly starts the door again upwards with momentum causing the door to proceed past the normal upward limit of travel. The cycles of movement repeat each other several times until the momentum of movement becomes so slight as to be ineffective and the door eventually comes to rest. This backward and forward movement is what is termed oscillation. Such oscillation or momentum of oscillation is further increased if bumper springs are employed to stop the upward over-travel. present invention to provide braking means whereby this objectionable oscillation of the door will be eliminated.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of means to frictionally engage certain off the door supporting rollers whereby the forces moving the door to an open position will be at least partially dissipated before the door reaches the limit of its opening movement.

A still further object of the invention rests in the employment of a resilient lining material which is secured to the trackway's adjacent one end thereof.

With these andA other objects which will be apparent as the description proceeds, the invention consists in the novel features of construction and arrangement of parts as are best illus- The overhead doors usually are provided with counterbaienc- It is an object therefore of the- (ci. aol-zo) trated in the following description and the accompanying drawing.

In the drawing:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through a doorway provided with an overhead door to which the present invention has been applied;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal sectional view of the rear end of the trackway, the plane of the section being indicated by the line II--l o Fig. 1;

' Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view thrcugli one of the tracks on the plane indicated by the line III-D1 of Fig. 2

Fig. 4 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line IV-IV of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a similar view showing a roller in op- 15 erative position in the trackway;

Fig. 6 is a side elevation of a. track provided with a modication of the invention; i

Fig. '7 is a vertical transverse sectional view on the line VII- VH of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a similar view of a further modified form of the invention.

Referring more particularly tothe drawing, the numeral l indicates a building wall in which is formed a doorway -opening 2. Arranged todo close the doorway 2 is a sectional door 3, the latterV being provided adjacent rthe edges of each section with bracket means 4. A vertical trackway 5 is rigidly secured to the building wall adjacent the side edges of the door and at the top of the door, the trackway is formed with a. curved portion S which connects the vertical section 5 of the track with a horizontal section l supported in an elevated plane by the framework B.

The trackway is formed of metallic strips which have a channel section opening toward the edge of the door. These channels receive rollers 9 carried in connection with the bracketfmeans I. The axles or pivot pins of the rollers serve to connect the brackets of adjacent sections so that the door will-comprise a single unit of hinged sections.

The bracket at the top of the uppermost section ,has pivotally secured theretoa link l0 which carries at its outer portion a pair of rollers 9a. The rollers 8 and 9a 4and the trackway support and guide the door for movement from a closed position to an elevated or open position.

To counterbalance the weight of the door so that it can readily be moved to either an open 50 or closed position, the framework 8 is provided with stationary pulleys ll over Which are passed cables I2. One end of the cables is connected to the bottom section f the door adjacent the lower edge thereof. After passing over the pulleys Il,

" moved from an open position to a closed position,

the springs Il wm be stretched and es the door is moved in the opposite direction, the contraetion of the spring will assist in raising the door. When the door is in its open position in the horiaontal portion of the trackway, the resistance to its menen a lessened and the force or the springs il cause the door to move more easily and accumulate some momentum. To avoid .injury to the mechanism by absorbing the momentum, the

framework is provided with one or more bumper springs IL In the present instance, the springs II are of leaf construction, being substantially U-shape when viewed in side elevation and have their inner arms fixed at their upper ends to the framework l andtheir spaced free ends arranged in the path of movement of the door. .As heretofore explained, the arrangement of the counterbalancing springs I I and their connecting means with the door and associated framework cause the door when elevated to oscillate back and forth in its guides for an appreciable interval of time due to the reversely acting forces applied to the springs Il and to the action of the bumper springs il.

To prevent the above mentioned oscillation of the door, the rear ends of each of the track scctions 'il have secured to the upper horizontal ilange portions a braking strip I8 of woven ilbrous material similar to lining material used in brakes of motor vehicle wheels. This strip I6 reduces the internal height of the channelwhereby the-rollers 8 will be slightly wedged and the movement through the channels will be resisted. 111e strips I I may be secured in place in any suitable manner but for purposes of illustration have Abeen shown secured to the track by rivets il. The heads of the rivets are couniersunk in order to prevent the rollers from engaging the same and being marred or broken.

'Ihe length of the strips is such that the rollers 9a will engage therewith before the door reaches the bumper springs II and part of the momentum of the door Awill then be checked. The frictional engagement of the rollers 9a with the braking strip prevents undesired movement of the door after it has moved to a fully open position.

Inasmuch as the braking strips are composed of nbrous material, engagement of the rollers therewith produces no` disagreeable sound.

In Figs. 6 and 7, there has been shown a modied type of mounting il for the braking strip. The mounting il consists of a slightly ilexible metallic plate secured to an angle bracket il -welded or otherwise fastened to the outer side of the track. The top ange of the track is cut away to receive the downwardly and rearwardly bent portion 2l of the plate to which the fabric braking strip is secured.

Fig. 8 shows a still further modified type of braking strip. In this form, a block of wood 2| replaces the portion Il and the lining material sh'own in Figs. 6 and '1.

In all the forms, the fundamental idea of decreasing an internal dimension of the trackway through the employment of a resilient or ilexible member is maintained.

While I have shown and described my invention in its preferred form, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the mechanicsl construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope'of the invention as set forth in the following claims.

What is claimed is: A

l. Inr a rolling door mechanism having a pair of opposed channel-shaped guides and rollers movably positioned therein. a portion of one of the flanges of each guide being removed to provide recesses. a bracket secured to each of said guides in registration with -the recesses and a braking element carried by each of said brackets and projecting through said recesses into said guides.

2. In a rolling-door mechanism having a pair of opposed guides and rollers movably positioned therein, said guides including a pair of spaced flanges united by a web. a strip of compressible ilbrous material rigidly secured to the inner face of one of said pair of flanges to reduce the `space therebetween and yieldably resist the passage of said rollers through said guide.

3. In a rolling door mechanism provided with opposed channel-shaped guides and rollers movably positioned therein. a portion of one of the ilanges of said guides being removed to provide a recess, a bracket positioned in registration with said recess, a flexible plate secured to said bracket and projecting into said recess, and a strip of resilient material secured to the portion of said plate within said recess.

4. In a rolling door mechanism of the type having a pair of guides and rollers movably positioned therein, said guides including a pair of spaced flanges united by a web, brake means carried by said guides between the spaced flanges, said brake means including elements which extend longitudinally of the guides and reduce the space between the ilanges substantially uniformly throughout the length of said elements.

5. In a rolling door mechanism of the type having a pair of guides and rollers movably positioned therein, said guides including a pair of spaced flanges united by a web, brake means carried by said guides and projecting into the space between said flanges, said brake means including elements which extend longitudinally of the guides and engage the periphery of the rollers moving therein, said elements imparting a substantially uniform resistance to the passage of the rollers throughout the entire length thereof. 6. In a rolling door mechanism of the type having a pair of guides -and rollers movabiy positioned therein, said guides each including a pair of spaced flanges united by a web. a strip of compressible material secured to the inner face of one of said pairof flanges to reduce the space therebetween and yieldably resist the passage of the rollers through said guide, said strip being of substantially uniform thickness throughout the length thereof.

RALPH H. GREEGOR. GEORGE B. RENICK. 

